Collapsible crate.



M. E. SILVERTHRN.

coLLAPslBLE CRATE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 8, 1915- l,1'86,694. APatented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

3mm M SUVer//m/w M. E. SILVERTHORN.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE. 1 APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a. 1915.

1,186,694. I I Patented Jun@ 13, 1916.

2v SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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` THE coLuMmA PIANOGRAPH C0.. WASHING-ron, D. C-

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'MINNIE E. SILVERTHORN, OF CAYUGA, NORTH DAKOTA.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

Application filed September 8, 1915.

To all 'LU/0m 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, MINNLE E. SILVER- 'ri-ionN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cayuga, in the county of Sargent and State of' North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Crates; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of' the invention, such as willr enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in collapsible crates, and the principal object of the device is to provide a crate, which may be readily closed to occupy minimum amount of space when it is desired to return the same to the shipper.

Another object of the invention is to provide acrate` which is constructed of sheet metal or a similarI material and whichis so Y constructed as to fold into a small, light and compact bundle, which may be readily stored in such a manner as to occupy the minimum amount of space during reshipment. f. f f

A further object of the invention is to provide a crate which, when in its-unfolded position, forms a strong and rigid box for the shipment of articles, which may be easily broken.

Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists, in the novel combination and arrangement of yparts which will be fully set forth in the following specication and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a crate constructed in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. l, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the crate in a folded position, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the same in a folded position.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates the bottom of the crate, provided along its front edge with the upturned liange 2, the upper edge of which is formed with the trough 3, in which the lower edge of the front panel rests. Formed along one of the side edges of the bottom is an upturned ange 4 provided at its upper edge with a plurality of spaced hinge barrels 5. An upturned flange 6 is formed at the rear edge of the device, and this iiange, like the flange 4, is formed Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 13, 1916.

Serial No. 49,589.

at its upper edge with a plurality of spaced hinge barrels. Formed on the side edge of the bottom opposite the flange 4 is a flange 8, which is of a height equal to substantially one-half ofl the height of the flanges 2, 4 and 6, and this flange 8, like the previous flanges, is formed with the hinge barrels 9.

liingedly connected to the hinge barrel 4, by means of suitable hinge pins 10, are the hinge barrels 1l formed at the lower edge of the side wall 12. This side wall extends upwardly and carries near its upper edge the staple 13, the use of which will appear as the description proceeds. Hinged to the iiange S, by means of the hinge barrels 9, is the side wall 14, which is provided with the hinge `barrels 15, and these hinge barrels 15 split thek spaces between the hinge barrels 9 so that their apertures aline to receive the hinge pins 16. The upper edge of the wall 14 is provided with a plurality of hinge barrels 17, and hingedly connected thereto are the hinge barrels 18 of the top 19. The apertures in the hinge barrels 17 and 18 aline to receive the hinge pin 20, and the top 19 is formed on its opposite edge with the hinge barrels 21 through which theV hinge pin 22 extends and hingedly connects the locking plate 23 to the top. This locking plate 23 is formed with the hasp or eX- tension 24 provided with the slot 25 through which the staple 13 projects, when the device is in its unfolded position. A suitable hook 26 is secured to the plate 23 and hooks through the staple 13 to hold the top closed, as illustrated in the drawings. The vertical edges of the walls 12 and 14 are formed with the outwardly extending bent back portions 27, the use of which will appear as the description proceeds. These bent back portions form pockets in which the edges of' the front and rear walls,'which wilbe more fully hereinafter described, are

The edge of the top 19 is formed with the outwardly extending bent back portions 28 for the reception ofthe upper edge of the rear wall when the device is in its open position, as shown in Fig. 1.

Hingedly secured to the upper edge of the rear flange 6 is the rear wall 29, the edges of which are surrounded by the pockets formed by the outwardly extending bent back portions 27 and 28, and it will thus be seen that a rigid connection is formed between the side, rear and top walls.

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The front wall of the device, designated by the numeral 30, and consists of a single sheet of metal, theside edges of which are slidable in the outward extensions 27 at the yhandle to enable the device to be easily carried when in its folded position. rlhe handle in the flange 4 is designated'by the numeral 82,as illustrated in Fig. 4.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that infolding, the hook 26y is removed from engagement beneath the staple 30 and the top 19 is swung upwardly on its hinges, permitting the plate 28 to be swung inwardly to lie parallel to the top. The top is then swung downwardly to lie parallel with the side wall 14, and this side wall is then swung downwardly tolie parallel with the bottom 1. The front wall rst being removed and placed on the bottom of the crate. The rear wall is then foldedv downwardly on top of the side wall 14, and the side wall 12 is then swungv on its hinges downwardly on top of the rear wall, and it will be apparent that the device lwill be in `its folded position and ready 'for transportation.) VrThe user may then grasp the handle 32, and it will be evident that the device will assume a small and compact bundle,which may be readily stored forfshipment to the original sender, and the cost of v returning the crates will be Vmaterially reduced. y

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that such changes may be made in the com- `bination and arrangement of parts as will fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A folding crate comprising a bottom, lianges formed at the edges of the bottom, ak

flange on one of said edges being substan- .tially one-half of the height of the remaining flanges, a sidewall hinged to the smallest iiange, a side wall hinged to the opposite flange, a rear wall hinged to one of the remaining flanges, a top hinged to the firstmentioned'side wall, pockets formed at the edges of the side walls, and at the'rear edge of the top for engaging the rear wall, and a removable front wall. Y

2. A folding crate ofthe characterde-y scribed comprising a bottom, 'upturned flanges formed at the edges of the bottom, one of the; side flanges being substantially one-halfvthe height of the remaining flanges,

Vthe two side flanges and the rear flange being' formed with hinge barrels, a] rear wall Vhinged to the rear flange, side walls hinged to the side flanges, a top hingedly connected to one of the side walls, a staple carried by the opposite side wall, a hasp hinged to the top and engaging the staple to lock the device in a closed position, pocketsv formed' at the rear edgesof the side walls and at theA vrear edges of thetop wallfor thereception of the edges of the rear wall, pockets formed 1 on the front edges of the side walls, and a front wall removably held in the last named pockets.

In testimonyv whereofl aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MNNIE E. SILVERTHORN. Vitnesses: Y Y v Y EDWIN PEDERsoN, PAUL Woon` Uopies ofths patent may be obtained for five cents each, by nddrexsingthe Commissioner affreteurs,

Y f v WashjngtonJLO." 

